Month: May 2012

To chat with the Appropedia community, find us in the #appropedia channel on Freenode, where we talk about exactly how we’ll be ramping up Appropedia this year, how this will change the world… and perhaps some lighter topics as well.

That’s an IRC channel – Internet Relay Chat, which is very flexible way to chat.

In future we’ll be announcing meetings and Appropedia jams at set times, but for now, come and say hi, and if someone’s around, they’ll say hi back – then ask your questions and make suggestions. I’m in the channel most of the time that my computer’s on, so there’s a good chance you’ll find me.

There are a few ways to join the channel:

Via the web. This is easiest (but not suitable for older computers or older browsers). Go to Freenode Web Chat, pick a username and connect.

Chatzilla extension for Firefox (and other Mozilla browsers). Some suggestions for setup options here. With Chatzilla installed, this link will take you to the channel: #appropedia

A chat client that supports IRC, e.g. Pidgin. (I find Pidgin less easy and less sophisticated than Chatzilla, for the new user.)

And aside from the discussion channel, we also have a specialist channel:

Recent changes channel

Appropedia’s continued survival depends on the Recent Changes Patrol – rolling back spam and other junk as quickly as it is put up, and helping other editors. You can be part of the patrol by joining the #appropedia-rc channel and getting a live – this allows you to see what edits are being made to Appropedia, with a link to the “diff” for the changes. Thanks to Danny B. from Prague, a hardworking member of the Wikimedia community, who set this up for us.

So, drop in and say hello. And be patient if no one’s around to reply… there are a few of us using the channel so far, and it’s increasing, but you might have to try at different times. (As for me, I’m on AEST, the eastern Australian timezone, so if you’re in the US, I’m likely to be asleep during your business hours!)